Rethinking the Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement: an African ecclesiological approach

Abstract

The Catholic Charismatic Renewal Movement accepts and practices the beliefs in the gifts of the Holy Spirit without leaving the fundamental teachings of a mainline tradition. Similarly, in the Catholic Church, this is a movement that has embraced the gifts of the Holy Spirit without leaving Catholicism. The movement has been influenced largely by the protestant tradition, particularly the Pentecostal movement, hence some resemblances with Pentecostal ecclesiological practices such as charismatic worship, prophecy, divine healing, and speaking in tongues. Previous studies on this movement have only looked at the various challenges or attacks on the movement such as shifting their focus away from the church ordinances and sacraments. What is new in this article, is a reflection on the practices of the charismatic renewal in offering a relevant African ecclesiology. This will be done by locating this article within an African ecclesiological approach which when applied to the charismatic renewal makes the movement relevant to an African context.